Can't remove / uninstall MyWebSearch?

Dennis Faas's picture

Infopackets Reader "Cospul" writes:

" Dennis, please warn all your subscribers to avoid the browser plug-in called 'MyWebSearch'!

I downloaded and installed the said browser enhancement, only to find out that it hijacked my Microsoft Internet Explorer every time I went on the Internet! Whatever web page or site that I go to, MyWebSearch either displays the Mywebsearch website or displays an error message which reads, 'Can't find website notice.' My Internet Explorer is completely useless and acts if possessed!

I emailed the support at Mywebsearch 3 times and explained how their uninstaller would not remove the component 'mwssrcas.dll' from my system. I finally received a response with some instructions on how to remove the file, only to have Norton Antivirus alert me that my actions were 'malicious and destructive' to my computer!

I emailed Mywebsearch a 4th time, but they have not responded to me in the last 3 weeks. I even hired a certified Microsoft technician to fix the problem -- but after a week, all they could tell me was that Mywebsearch acts like a virus (no kidding!). I can't find any capable technical help! Please warn your subscribers before it is too late! "

Side note: MyWebSearch is a Browser Helper Object (BHO). A "Browser Helper Object" is a DLL that allows developers to customize and control Internet Explorer. When IE 4.x and higher starts, it reads the registry to locate installed BHO's and then creates them. Created BHO's then have access to all the events and properties of that browsing session. (Source: Spywareinfo.com)

My response:

I visited the Mywebsearch web site and immediately noted the large download button which reads "I accept. Download the Mywebsearch Bar". Above that, there is a line which reads "By installing the My Web Search bar, you accept and agree to the My Web Search bar End User License Agreement [EULA]."

I didn't bother reading the technical mumbo-jumbo contained in their EULA. Instead, I went to Google and typed in "mywebsearch spyware" and "mywebsearch remove / removal" only to find a plethora of users complaining of similar problems already noted by Cospul.

Many of the complaints I read (as recent as January 28, 2004) stated that AdAware and Spybot S&D would not detect or remove this program and that there were error messages when attempting to uninstall from the Add / Remove programs in Control Panel. And with all the sites I visited (over an hour's worth of surfing), I was not able to find a single definitive answer for removing this program.

Help from Infopackets Readers?

If you have a definitive answer and know how to remove MyWebSearch, please email me your suggestion.

Update 2004/03/16: This article has been updated. Click here to read!

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